Located on a huge rock in the forests of central Sri Lanka, Sigiriya is an     1     (attract) sight now as it must have been when it was first built by a great king in the     2     (five) century A. D. Meaning “lion’s rock”, Sigiriya is entered by way of passageways cut into the rock face.

The castle was later covered by the forest, and only familiar to local villagers. Outsiders used knowledge of its past, mentioned in Buddhist texts, to search     3     the ancient site. In1827, a Scottish officer, Jonathan Forbes, on     4     (hear) local stories about the castle, decided     5     (look) for it. In 1831, he set off to where locals told him and found the remains of the ancient city.

Sigiriya     6     (build) by Kashyapa I, the king     7     ruled the native Sinhalese dynasty, the Moriya. The impressive castle was     8     capital of the Sinhalese kingdom until Kashyapa was defeated (击败) in A. D. 495.

After Kashyapa, dynasties rose and fell, their fortunes shaped by internal (内部的) power struggles and conflicts between native Sinhalese and outside forces from India.

Various     9     (city) held the status (地位) of capital after Sigiriya, such as Polonnaruwa. By the 12th century, however, overall control of Sri Lanka progressively weakened. Sinhalese power retreated (撤退) to the southwest of the island, and the former administrative (行政的) centres, including Sigiriya,     10     (start) to fall into disuse.

On March 31, the Eiffel Tower celebrated its 130th anniversary since it opened.     1    (original) planned to last only 20 years, the people of Paris wisely decided to keep it standing,    2     (recognize) its importance. Millions of people     3     (visit) the tower so far, according to its official website.

The tower was created by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel and was first intended as the main entrance     4     the 1889 World’s Fair. It was built in a little over two years and faced criticism from some locals initially. However, it quickly captured the attention of fair visitors, attracting more than two million people. It also had a     5     (practice) use as a radio antenna during World War I.

Visitors today can choose to climb 1,665 steps or take one of the original elevator cars    6     (reach) the top. At the top of the tower,     7     the tower’s administrative office is located, guests can enjoy a drink at the champagne bar on the top floor.

Today, the Eiffel Tower is a symbol of France, representing a feeling of pride and thankfulness. It is a global icon that can bring together people from different     8    (background). The tower is not only     9     popular tourist destination but also a widely recognized symbol, a     10     (believe) held by many who appreciate its enduring charm.

5 . At ancient sites across the Amazon River basin, mysterious plots of unusually rich soil dot (点缀) the landscape. Scientists have long debated the origin of this “dark earth”, which is darker in color than surrounding soils and richer in carbon. Some people think this dark earth formed naturally, but the latest research has shown that modern Kuikuro people in Brazil create similar soil around their villages on purpose, which adds evidence to the idea that long-ago Amazons deliberately made such soil too. Perron, an earth scientist at MIT, reviewed interviews of Kuikuro people conducted by a Kuikuro filmmaker in 2018 and found that Kuikuro villagers actively make dark earth by using ash, food bits and controlled burns. “When you plant in hilly land, the soil is weak,” explained elder Kanu Kuikuro in one of the interviews. That is why we throw the ash, manioc peelings and manioc pulp. When comparing soil samples from ancient and modern sites, researchers found “striking similarities” — both were far less acidic than surrounding soils and contained higher levels of plant-friendly nutrients.

Analyses also revealed that dark earth holds twice the amount of carbon as surrounding soils on average. Scans (扫描) of the Xingu region suggest that the area is dotted with dark earth, and that hold as much as about 9 million tons of carbon — the annual carbon emissions of a small, industrialized country. “This number could roughly equal the annual carbon emissions of the United States when all dark earth across the Amazon is taken into consideration,” Perron says.

Figuring out the true value of carbon stored in the Amazon’s dark earth will require more data. Still, the research has significant influences on the Amazon’s future. The technique highlights how ancient people were able to live in the Amazon by developing sustainable farming that doubled as a carbon-storing technique. With more and more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, it could also provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in the soil, helping fight climate change.

Located in the southwest Pacific, New Zealand which is made up of two main islands and     1     number of small islands, is famous for its     2     (amaze) natural beauty and scenic attractions.

New Zealand is about the same size as the United Kingdom. The two main islands are 1600km     3     length, but only 5〜450km wide and separated by the Cook Strait. Over 75 percent of New Zealand is at least 200m above sea level with Mount Cook being the     4     (high) point. The Chatham Islands, 800km east of Christchurch, are the first lands on earth     5     (see) the sun.

Much of New Zealand culture is from Britain, including some cultures from America, Australia and Maori, along with other European cultures and Asian cultures. Large festivals in     6     (celebrate) of Diwali and Chinese New Year     7     (hold) in several large cities. The music and food of New Zealand are similar to those of Britain and the United States, although they have some     8     (extreme) special New Zealand and Pacific qualities.

Queenstown,     9     is the main center for snow sports in New Zealand, attracts people from all over the world to ski at the four mountain ski fields every year. In recent years, Queenstown’s hotels     10     (become) popular destinations for tourists from all over the world.